More CJD

FIVE more possible cases of the new strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) that sparked Britain's beef crisis have been found by the CJD Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh.

The five people, whose cases were first reported in the Sunday Times, are all under 42 and still alive. If the cases are confirmed, it will bring the total number of the new strain in Britain to 16. One case has been identified in France.

A member of the government's Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, who did not wish to be named, told New Scientist that the number of cases identified in the next few months will be crucial. "If we're in for big trouble and there's going to be an exponential increase we'll know by the end of the yearthough it doesn't look like it at the moment."

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